Minn-ho ho ho

Date fished 14/10/2023

8.40am until 1.20pm

Myself and the kids decided to try our luck today on the river Swale. Rupe still wanted to catch his first chub and Martha was happy with anything she could call "Gary"! (No idea)

The rain had stopped and the river was high but certainly fishable. It was cold and clear as we jumped in the car with homemade flat sausage and cheese muffins. Rupe was up front on radio duty and picked Heart Christmas! At least the sunrise was nice.

A brisk walk to the river to warm up and we were soon fishing. Rupe was ledgering meat in a likely spot by some trees, whilst Martha and I watched on expectantly.

No bites came, but a big splash near a bush further down had us moving quickly there! No luck so we went to float fish for grayling. Martha and I ventured in the cold, clear water and trotted maggots in the morning sun.

It seemed that the Friday 13th bad luck had rolled over, we were having all of it! 

The cold wind picked up and made trotting difficult. There was only one thing for it, we stopped for biscuits and hot juice! 

Another swim and Martha trotted whilst I fed maggots. She reeled in and was surprised to see "Gary" on the end. 

Rupe wanted some minnow action and soon he had two to his name. They declared themselves off the blank! 

One last try at the tree swim, we had primed it earlier so was hoping a chub had come to investigate. Unfortunately Rupe's gentle cast found a snag so it was a quick re-tackle to fish again. A change to cheese paste still didn't tempt a take. Although camo Rupe was hard to spot now! 

We had a great day even without some proper "Gary's". And we sung about snow, spaceships and enquiring if people were aware what day it was... all the way home!